Braces I Hate the Most
by MaRaMa-TSG
Summary: [CatCF 2005, Post movie] Charlie needs braces but Wonka doesn't like the idea. No romance and pairings of any kind, just the fun a mentor and a heir can have.
1. Braces for Charlie, Headache for Wonka

**Title: **Braces I Hate the Most.  
**Author: **MaRaMa-TSG  
**Word Count:** 1,604  
**Rating: **PG  
**Pairing:** None  
**Chapter Summary: **A routine visit to Dr. Wonka's office from Charlie and Willy Wonka. Charlie receives some unpleasant news that end up being more unpleasant for Willy Wonka.  
**Warnings: **None, I think. There's a part of slight father-son bonding that might get misunderstood. But otherwise it's squeaky clean.  
**A/N EDIT: **Fixed spelling and changed a few lines. Nothing too big.My first ever Wonka fic so he might look OOC. I'm also still improving my writing skills so any comments of how I can make it better are welcome. I'm Latin, so I'm still learning English. I also would like to know if there's a name for a dentist patient chair.

* * *

**Chapter one: Braces for Charlie, headache for Mr. Wonka.**

"We'll, Charlie. It seems you might need braces. You're starting to have a bit of an overbite." The white clad figure of a dentist retreated allowing the young boy to sit up and rinse his mouth on a nearby sink.

Charlie absently rubbed the front teeth of his upper jaw with his index finger. "Really? I wonder what Mr. Wonka might..."

"He'll probably say its all foolishness and tell you not to come here again." The doctor said matter-of-factly and with an emotionless face. Charlie, who had left his mouth slightly open after being interrupted in mid-sentence, closed it shut and stared at the doctor with, like one would say, those puppy dog eyes of his.

"The braces Willy used were much different from the ones that are available now. So don't let him scare you with his nonsense." Dr. Wonka smiled kindly for a moment as if to encourage his young patient and then walked over to a nearby cabinet and searched for something. After finding it he walked back to Charlie who was now putting on his jacket ready to leave. "This..." he started, getting the boys attention and showing him a model of both upper and lower jaws. "…is how your teeth _will_ look when you get older if you're not treated properly." He put a little more emphasis in the word 'will'. Charlie stared at the model with interest. The teeth from the upper jaw covered the front of the lower ones completely and were larger than normal. His face twisted in disgust in an exaggerated manner as he imagined his own teeth in that condition. He must have picked that trait from Mr. Wonka.

"Now you won't want your classmates to call you names because of this, would you?" The doctor said with a kind, yet, somewhat creepy smile.

Charlie shook his head and said shyly, his eyes still locked on the odd looking thing. "No, sir."

"But most importantly, it will hinder your eating habits. I'm also sure you'd like to have perfect teeth like my son does, of course, you must still floss."

Charlie nodded understandably.

"Well, then. We shall put on your braces in your next visit. Call me to make the appointment whenever you're ready. I don't want to force you into taking such an important decision but the sooner, the better." The model was placed at its original spot.

Charlie wondered if Mr. Wonka even had the choice of making a decision, he probably didn't but he wasn't gonna bring that up. The poor chocolatier was still recovering from the shock he had after seeing his father using a new tool to clean Charlie's teeth. The noise was so strong Mr. Wonka might have though he was getting all his teeth ripped off.

The boy chuckled at his thoughts as he walked to the next room. There, Willy was lying on another patient chair with a bag of ice on his head. "How do you feel Mr. Wonka?" Charlie stayed silent when he noticed his mentor had his eyes closed, tightly, and was slightly grimacing while he pressed the bag of ice against the side of his head. Charlie stood beside him patiently until his mentor could answer. The doctor did say he would have a nasty headache afterwards.

'That must have really hurt.' Charlie recalled the whole incident...

Yeah... Like a flashback...

Willy Wonka had fainted the moment he heard that deafening sound, it was a like chainsaw. Neither Charlie nor Dr. Wonka had noticed this until they heard a loud and hollow 'thud' behind them. Charlie quickly leaped from his chair to aid his mentor and friend. "Mr. Wonka. Mr. Wonka! Are you ok? What's wrong?" Charlie had shaken him but he was out cold. He looked back at Dr. Wonka with a frightened expression; the much older man was shaking his head.

"That's why I told him to wait outside, but he never listens."

"Is he gonna be ok?"

"Yes, he's just fainted but that sounded quite painful." Much to the boy's surprise, Dr. Wonka just walked over, picked the slim frame of the chocolatier and placed him in the other chair in the next room. The gentleness of the whole act made Charlie feel slightly better. He knew that Dr. Wonka would never let harm come to his own son.

Dr. Wonka felt trough his son's hair where he had hit the floor, his brow furrowed and he moved the hair away to reveal the even paler scalp. After feeling it for a few moments he finally turned to the worried filled child. "Charlie, bring me a bag of ice from the kitchen. He hit his head pretty hard and a very nasty bump it's starting to appear."

The young boy ran to the kitchen and back with said bag. It must have been for patients with toothache. He handed the bag to the doctor and walked to the other side of the chair to look at his mentor. Charlie bit his lip and swallowed as he felt a lump in his throat.

Dr. Wonka placed the bag of ice on the chocolatier's head and used a pillow to keep it in place. He saw Charlie's concerned face and couldn't help but smile. He knew how much that boy cared for his son. It made him happy to know that his son was not alone anymore. He _really_ needed human contact. "Don't worry Charlie." this made the young child snap out of his stare and looked up at the older man, swallowing again. That annoying lump refused to go away. "He's gonna be ok, the bruise isn't so bad. Just a small bump. It should leave in a couple of hours. A day tops." Another kind smile. A bit sweeter than usual. "He will have quite a nasty headache when he wakes up so he might have to rest here for a while. So, let's leave him rest, shall we?"

Charlie followed as the doctor left the room and giving one last glance at his unconscious mentor he closed the door.

A whispering voice. "Having a flashback?"

A weak chuckle.

Charlie snapped out of his thoughts to look at his mentor, who was staring at him smiling, his eyes half closed. It was probably because of the headache. Charlie smiled back. "I think so. Maybe it's contagious." He was pleased when the chocolatier smile grew wider. "How are you feeling Mr. Wonka? That sounded rather painful."

"Did it sound hollow?" Willy's eyes grew slightly bigger and his smile dropped quickly.

"A little..."

"Then, does that mean...I'm a bad nut?" He looked worried at this.

"Nah, it just means it was pretty hard."

"…Oh."

Dr. Wonka came into the room and looked down at Willy. "Well, son. Next time you will listen to me, won't you?"

Willy nodded slightly before cringing again.

"Let's check on that." Dr. Wonka reached for the bag and placing a hand on top of Willy's he removed it. "Move your head so I can see." Willy did it without hesitation. He had already grown used to physical contact, at least, from the people closer to him. Also, his relationship with his father had greatly improved thanks to the young heir.

Dr. Wonka felt around again, this time with an ungloved hand. The bump seemed to be getting smaller already.

Charlie looked as his mentor made a face of pain then relaxed.

Willy let out a soft groan as his father massaged his scalp. Such a sensitive area, never touched by other hands that weren't his own. The warmth of his father's fingers felt nice. It soothed the pain, it relaxed him. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling. He was nearly asleep when he heard his father's voice again.

"I was telling Charlie he needs braces..."

Willy's eyes shot open and in a second he was standing upright, "What!" for a moment he felt so dizzy he thought he was gonna faint again both Charlie and his father held him as he leaned against the chair. The blood had rushed to his head too fast.

"Now, now...Calm down son. I told him to think about it and tell me whenever he's ready."

Willy, still trying to regains his balance. Was the room spinning? He shook his head in disapproval. "no..."

"Pardon? What have I told you about mumbling, Willy?"

'Aha! That's where that came from.' Charlie thought.

"No." Willy straightened himself. "You would do no such thing. Charlie's teeth are fine just the way they are. I won't let you put on that...that... awful and nasty...thing on him!" He seemed to be trying to find the correct word to describe the head gear he had when he was a child.

"Oh, no. There's a new kind of braces now, son. And anyway, his teeth aren't so bad it will be for a short period of time. And I think that's Charlie's choice and not yours." Dr. Wonka said firmly and matter-of-factly.

Willy's mouth made strange movements as he organized the thoughts of his head, opening and closing. His eyebrows not still either. Finally, he turned to Charlie with a questioning face.

"Don't worry Mr. Wonka. I'm gonna tell mom and dad first and see what they say about it." he smiled at his confused mentor.

"Now, Willy. It's your turn to get your teeth cleaned."

The chocolatier let out a small whimper and lowered his head, following his father back to the other room like an obedient puppy.

A chuckle

This time... from a small boy.


	2. Quality Time in the Great Glass Elevator

**Title: **Braces I hate the most.  
**Author: **MaRaMa-TSG  
**Word Count:** 1,752  
**Rating: **PG  
**Pairing:** None  
**Chapter Summary: **Finally out of Dr. Wonka's office, a bit of quality time in the Great Glass Elevator. And singing! And laughing!  
**Warnings: **None  
**A/N: **Was listening to the soundtrack as I wrote this. I also got new ideas for this story. I intended it to be a short one at first but if I continue what I have planned it might be an ongoing story. So little to write… So much time…

Wait…

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**Chapter Two: Quality Time in the Great Glass Elevator  
**

"Ouch!"

"Don't move, Willy!"

"That hurt!"

"It will hurt more if you keep squirming in the chair. You should be ashamed Charlie behaved better than you. You're a grown man!"

The young boy had to bite his lip to suppress a chuckle at the chocolatier's frustrated groan.

The whizzing noise stopped followed by a sigh from Dr. Wonka and he sat upright again. "All done, you can open your eyes now."

Willy opened his eyes slowly, after having them closed shut throughout the whole cleaning. They hurt a bit. He immediately took a gloved finger to his teeth and felt his aching gums. Then withdrew it and saw a bit of blood on the tip of his finger and flinched.

"That's what happens when you don't stay still." Dr. Wonka then proceeded to take off his gloves and wash his hands. After drying them a new set of gloves was quickly put on. He turned around to face his patient. "Well, see you in six months son." He smiled. "Or sooner if you don't floss." The smile widened becoming slightly sinister.

Wonka silently left the chair messing with his teeth and walked out of the room. Charlie, who had been by Wonka's side all the time, followed behind.

"Mr. Wonka..."

He turned around to look at Charlie, still rubbing a gloved finger to his front teeth and saw him pointing to his belongings lying on the waiting room's couch.

"Oh, yah!" He gave Charlie a weak smile as he quickly put on his black winter coat, his 'hip, groovy' sunglasses, picked his cane up and then took his hat placing it back on his head. "Ow!"

'Aw, gosh darn it! It's right where the hat rests.' He thought after being harshly reminded of his injury, the hat was taken back off and he massaged the small lump on the side of his head with his fingers the same way his father had done earlier. Although gloved hands didn't give the same comfort ungloved did.

"I can carry that for you, Mr. Wonka." Charlie stretched a hand waiting for his mentor to give him the hat, smiling broadly.

Wonka looked at him for a moment processing that request. He didn't want to treat Charlie like a slave or lackey. But Charlie's eyes showed some excitement on the concept of carrying his beloved hat. Wonka smiled and bent down smiling cheerfully. "I have a better idea." Carefully he placed his top hat on Charlie's little head, and then frowned a bit as it slid down covering his eyes. It was just too big for the boy. But Charlie was giggling instead and he pulled it back up holding it in place with one hand. "How do I look?"

Wonka smiled again placing a hand on his thigh while keeping the other on his cane. "Like a little chocolatier!" The older man looked as excited as Charlie did at this point.

"Well, let's go now." Wonka got a bit closer and Charlie turned his head to hear him whisper. "This place still gives me the wheelies." Charlie bit his lip to hold back laughter from Wonka's face as he said that. The young boy was still getting used to the chocolatier's exaggerated facial expression.

Wonka stood upright and turning on his heels walked out in a hurried manner, his cane taping on the floor as he walked. Charlie nearly had to run to keep up behind him. Neither of them noticed a smiling dentist that had been watching the whole time. Dr. Wonka let out a sigh of contentment and disappeared into another room as the door closed behind the two.

As they walked out of the building and headed to the Great Glass Elevator Charlie couldn't take his eyes off his mentor. He was so different when they visited his father, even for their routinely check ups.

"Mr. Wonka?" Charlie had to speed a little to walk right next to his mentor, holding the hat firmly on his head to keep it from falling. He looked up at him. Wonka didn't seem to hear him so he called again a bit louder. "Mr. Wonka!"

Wonka suddenly remembered he wasn't alone a slowed down (to Charlie's relief) looking over his shoulder with that fake smile of his. "Yes, my dear Charlie?" He then continued to look forward maintaining the smile.

"Why do you always seem so quiet when we come here?"

Wonka stopped completely, keeping the smile frozen on his face but seemed to think for a moment. Finally, he blurted out an answer. "I don't know!" He started walking again.

Charlie reached out and pulled his arm to make him stop. He wasn't taking that as an answer. He felt Wonka's arm tense and pull back a bit as he stopped. When he looked up at his mentor's face he saw a frightened look. He made a mental note of not acting so abruptly with Mr. Wonka. Still he accomplished what he wanted. Wonka had stopped walking so he continued. "Is it because of what your father might think?"

Wonka turned his head slowly to Charlie; a slight smile began to reappear on the corners of his mouth. It, however, didn't feel comfortable there because his mouth was twitching slightly. "It's pretty chilly out here, isn't it?"

Charlie nodded a bit frustrated but it was clear Wonka didn't want to talk about it. He soon started walking again, still looking at Charlie. "We should hurry into the Great Glass Elevator and go ba…"

**WHAM!**

Charlie winced and just stared, waiting for Willy to pick himself from the ground as he always did. This seemed to make him less embarrassed than when he was helped up.

Willy stood back up rather quickly; he ran a hand trough his hair and dusted the backside of his coat. "Go back to the factory, heh." He blushed notably as he pressed the button of the elevator and, with a 'DING', the doors opened. They both silently stepped inside. As soon as the doors closed Wonka pressed another button (followed with another 'DING') and seemed to brighten instantly. The elevator slowly rose from the ground and made its way up to the clouds keeping a smooth steady pace.

"Now what was the question again, little Charlie?"

'Ah, so he wasn't avoiding the subject, he just wanted to get out of there.' "You don't have to talk about it if you don't really want to, Mr. Wonka."

Wonka thought for a moment, then smiled widely again, showing all his perfect white teeth. "I wouldn't be much of a mentor if I kept things from you, now would I, dear boy?" He continued before Charlie could answer. "You're the only person I can trust, Charlie. You're probably the only person I'll ever speak to." Charlie was surprised when he saw his mentor go down in one knee to be at his height, keeping himself in balance with both hands on top of his cane he leaned close to Charlie's face. "I will let you in a little secret." Wonka's smile was instantly replaced by a very serious expression that Charlie thought looked out of place in the always cheerful demeanor of the man. Then again, he had been looking quite out of character the whole day. Charlie nodded so he would continue.

"My…father…scares me sometimes." Wonka's eyes trailed to the side and Charlie imagined he might be going into one of his flashbacks. But then he looked at Charlie again. "I'm afraid of what he might do to you…"

Charlie's eyes grew wide at this. Did he mean that Dr. Wonka would harm him? Had Dr. Wonka ever harmed his son…physically as well as emotionally? Charlie opened his mouth but no words came out.

"Charlie, I don't want you to wear those awful things. Your teeth are fine! He's just too obsessed with perfect smiles." The cheerful smile came back. "Personally, I think it's perfect as it is now." The chocolatier stood upright once again, smiling and staring forward. Even though, there was nothing to see but cotton white clouds.

There was a long silent. Charlie was still wondering if Dr. Wonka had ever hurt his son physically. He suddenly felt bad for him but he didn't dare ask, at least not for now. Maybe he just said it because of the braces he had to use when he was a child. According to his description they weren't comfortable at all and caused him lots of pain. Yeah, that must be the 'hurting' he was afraid off. Nothing to fret about.

The silence didn't last long as Wonka started humming a song to himself. It was his 'Welcome Song'. The song got stuck in Charlie's head instantly and he pushed his thoughts away humming it as well. He didn't notice the smile on his mentor's face.

Charlie started singing and bobbing his head from side to side. "Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, The amazing chocolatier! Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, Everybody give a cheer! He's modest clever and so smart he barely can restrain it! There's so much generosity there is no way to contain it"

Wonka followed, bobbing his head much more excitedly. "To contain to contain to contaiiiiiin!" lifting his cane in the air as he intoned the last part.

Charlie started laughing and so did Wonka. Suddenly Charlie felt a warm hand on his shoulder and was pulled closer towards his mentor, who was now smiling kindly at him. Charlie felt happy just by standing next to the man he used to idolize. He felt lightheaded for a moment. This was his greatest dream come true.

"Charlie?"

He looked up at the man returning the smile.

Wonka's eyes were half closed as he looked down and the boy with a light, happy smile on his face. A smile Charlie hasn't seen before but he somehow felt important for being the reason of it.

"Thank you for being my friend."

More silence followed. Charlie was just enjoying the closeness with his mentor. He had closed his eyes by now. Wonka, however, couldn't stay silent or _still_ for long. He lifted his cane and taped the back of 'Charlie's hat' making it fall on his eyes again giggling soon after.

"Hey!" Charlie lifted it back up to see his mentor bobbing his head again with a giant grin while looking down at him.

"Chewing, chewing, all day long!"

More laughter and singing.

And even some dancing from Wonka.


	3. Decisions

**Title: **Braces I hate the most. 3?  
**Author: **MaRaMa-TSG  
**Word Count:** 3,487  
**Rating: **PG  
**Disclaimer: **Is called **fan** fiction for a reason, isn't it?  
**Pairing:** None  
**Chapter Summary: **Dinner, flashback and decisions.  
**A/N: **Took me heck of a while to feel like writing again. Thanks to all those other Wonka!Fiction writers out there and the reviewers for the inspiration I needed. The writing style will change about halfway on the fic because I wrote half of it a long time ago and by now I picked a new way of writing.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Decisions**

Mrs. Bucket looked at her husband smiling as they both heard a pair of familiar and happy voices getting closer to their home.

The door burst open with such force everyone jumped and stared at it with shock. The shock then turned into curiosity of how the door could still be in its hinges after that. Mrs. Bucket gave a warning look at the culprit. "Willy…" She said, dragging the 'y' at the end.

Willy Wonka stood frozen with his left arm still stretched, half-clenched palm facing the door. His entire body was tense, shoulders slightly raised while he made a comical sneer and his right eye half closed and twitching slightly. While still frozen in that posture his eyes darted around looking at everyone in the house then back at Mrs. Bucket. The grimace turned into an awkward smile as he mouthed the word 'oops.' but not sound came out except for a nervous breathy chuckle.

"Staying for dinner, Willy?"

Wonka's smile turned into a toothy grin as he lifted his head to look at Mr. Bucket who was putting plates on the table all the while smiling at Willy. He cocked his head to the side in a quick moment while he nearly squeaked. "Sure!"

Charlie pushed his way in under Willy's arm, making the man gasp slightly, took a deep breath and smiled. "Hi, mum! Hi, dad! Hi, Grandpa Joe! Hi, Grandma Josephine! Hi, Grandpa George! Hi, Grandma Georgina!" Then he set Willy's hat on a table near the door and went to hug each one of his relatives.

Willy walked in after the boy and looked at Mrs. Bucket that was now serving the food at the stove. When she turned she jumped a bit not expecting him there then smiled when she saw his expression.

"I'm terribly sorry for slamming the door like that, Mrs. Bucket." Willy had such an adorable 'puppy face' expression, head lowered and all, that she couldn't help but smile as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's ok, Will--ohmygosh!" she covered her mouth with one hand and stared at Willy's face.

Willy was confused and started to panic. "What? Please don't tell me there's a whangdoodle behind me because I left my machete in my room." A forced smile crept to his face as he shook his head matter-of-factly.

Everyone just stared at him, trying to process what he had just said but quickly dismissed it when they remembered who the speaker was. Mrs. Bucket continued. "Willy, how did you get such a nasty looking bump on your head?" She brushed a bit of his hair back to get a better look.

"Oh….that…" Willy started explaining but got cut off and frowned.

"Oh…oh dear. Let me look for some ice. Willy, sit down. I'll be right back!" All the while she was talking Willy had raised a finger and opened his mouth several times to speak but she was speaking to fast herself. He retracted the finger to form a fist making his gloves squeak and stood helpless as he watched her rushing to the back of the room. He turned to Charlie with his jaw slightly dropped, then closed it with and raised his eyebrows, making Charlie snicker.

"Are you ok, Mr. Wonka? You didn't slam against the Great Glass Elevator again did you?" Grandpa Joe asked with some concern.

"Well, actually…"

"He fainted at Dr. Wonka's office and hit his head on the floor."

Willy glared at Charlie for both interrupting him and for the way he said it. Well, at least he didn't say that he had indeed slammed against the elevator again. So yeah, he could forgive him.

Mr. Bucket came over to Willy and pulled a chair next to him. "Then you better sit down. Don't want you getting dizzy and falling again. Head wounds are very serious." He motioned him to sit. Willy hesitated at first, then smiled and did so. "I'll get the coat for you."

Willy looked over his shoulder as he felt Mr. Bucket tugging at his coat shoulders and moved his arms free. Mr. Bucket quickly set it on the rack besides the table where Charlie had placed the hat. Then Charlie took his cane and did the same. "Eh-Heh thanks. All this isn't necessary… you know… you really shouldn't worry your little noggins! I'm perfectly fine! I had actually forgotten about it. …Really." His voice lowered by the end, making the 'Really.' nearly inaudible. All this attention was making him uneasy, even if he knew they were just concerned. He just wasn't used to it…yet.

"Here, Willy, hold this to your head."

Willy jumped letting out a soft gasp and looking to his side. He didn't notice when Mrs. Bucket came back, she was holding a bag of ice in front of him now. He stared at the bag for a moment as if trying to figure out what it was. He looked up at Mrs. Bucket with a faint, nervous smile. "I'm ok! I really am."

Mr. Bucket sat across from Willy and smiled kindly to his wife. "Honey, maybe you should let him eat first. They must be starving."

"Oh you can bet on that!" he quickly interjected making himself comfortable in the chair and at the same time dragging it away from Mrs. Bucket. He picked up the silverware holding a utensil in each hand and stared to his plate like it was the most interesting he'd ever seen.

Mrs. Bucket looked a bit disappointed that her efforts were in vain and turned back to the kitchen. "Well, then. I'll put the bag in the fridge to keep the ice from melting in case you need it later."

Willy nodded energetically still smiling at his plate like he was addressing it instead.

Everyone waited until she was at the table to start eating. Mr. Bucket said, "So what did Dr. Wonka told you, son?" as he placed a slice of bread on his plate while he smiled at Charlie.

Willy held the fork inside his mouth after taking a bite just as Mr. Bucket asked and looked trough the corner of his eyes to the young boy.

Charlie beamed at his father and said, "He said I've been taking good care of my teeth and was proud of knowing I've been flossing."

Willy took the fork out of his mouth and started to chew slowly as his eyes looked back at Mr. Bucket.

Mr. Bucket said, "That's my boy. Now Willy…"

Willy smiled, still chewing and raised his eyebrows to indicate he was paying attention. "What exactly happened? Why did you fainted?"

Willy's jaw chewed more slowly as his eyes lowered and he frowned slightly as he concentrated looking for an answer. His eyebrows raised again as he returned his gaze to Charlie's father. He chewed at normal speed again and finally swallowed flashing a toothy grin before saying, "I don't remember." Then he quickly took another mouthful of food as if the subject was over. Or at least it was, for him.

Everyone at the table, except Willy, looked at Charlie knowing they weren't getting any answers from the chocolatier.

Charlie casually took a sip from his glass of orange juice, courtesy of Mrs. Bucket saying he needed more vitamins than what chocolate milk had and Willy was not gonna change her mind, said, "Dad, you know about those new cleaning utensils the dentists have now?".

Everyone looked at Mr. Bucket as he nodded, Willy just gazed and got back to his plate to take another mouthful, he was eating rather quickly now.

Charlie continued, "Well, Mr. Wonka hadn't seen them the last time we went because he was looking around the house with mom. So today he decided to 'supervise' how Dr. Wonka cleaned my teeth and when he heard the noise it made he fainted."

Everyone heard Willy mumble something about 'ripping his teeth off' but when they looked he was gulping down his mug of chocolate milk. At first he had a small frown in annoyance but his features softened and his eyes were closed.

Mrs. Bucket. "Oh Willy, you poor thing." She ignored a glare from her husband; they had already argued that she was settled in treating Willy like a second son. After all he acted like a child most of the time, sometimes Charlie seemed more mature than him. She was pleased when she couth a tiny smile on the corner of Willy's lips.

Charlie finished his food and took another sip from his juice then said, "Dr. Wonka carried him to another chair and placed an ice bag on his head. When he finished with me he checked on him again and said that it wasn't as bad. That it would heal fast."

Mrs. Bucket smiled, "Oh so it got treated then."

Charlie smiled at her and said, "Yep."

Mrs. Bucket said, "So no need for the ice bag here then. Anything else happened?"

Charlie opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a loud bang on the table as Willy put his mug down and let out a long sigh breathing out, "Oh, how I love this stuff..." He opened his eyes and looked at Charlie with his trademark plastic smile and said, "Well, let's go! There's so much to be done today! We've lost enough time already at my father's house. Me really mustn't dilly or dally anymore!" as he quickly rose from his chair and flinching as its leg scraped the floor.

Mrs. Bucket raised her hand in a 'stop' gesture as she said, "Hold on, Willy. I think Charlie was gonna say something."

Willy sneered rolling his eyes and then turned his gaze to Charlie sitting back down.

Charlie gave him an apologetic look and said to his mom, "Dr. Wonka said I need braces because I have an overbite." He glanced to Willy once again; he was looking at the empty plate in front of him with a worried expression. "Mr. Wonka doesn't like the idea." He watched Willy close his eyes now, like he was about to get some awful news.

Mrs. Bucket gave a quick look to Willy and said, "Yes, I was talking to your father about that the other day. Maybe is better to have them now than later when it gets worst. Well, what do _you_ think, Charlie?"

Willy opened his eyes and stared in disbeliefs to Mrs. Bucket, "Wait, so you won't force him to wear them, or punish him for saying 'no' and saying that he _needs_ them because another adult, and an _expert_ at that, said so then it _must_ be true?"

Mrs. Bucket just smiled at him, "Of course not. We would never force Charlie to take a decision. Charlie knows well about that kind of stuff. His father used them some years ago."

Willy gaped, "…wow." Then he looked at Charlie smiling, a smile that reminded the boy of that faithful day right when Willy Wonka had said 'Oh, my dear boy, you've won!' but this time the words were, "Oh good, Charlie, you don't have to wear those dreadful things at all!"

Charlie looked down a bit trying to find the right words, "But, Mr. Wonka, I was thinking in having them put on." He watched how his mentor's cheerful smiled dropped once again. "I've been teased at school for having 'rabbit teeth'"

Willy frowned and looked down again as he processed the words, "…oh." Was all he could manage. "But…" he thought another moment then raised his gaze to Charlie and continued smiling a hopeful smile. Much like the one he used when he told Charlie there were other things in his factory besides chocolate. If he got Charlie to change his mind once he could do it again. But, was it really like that or had Charlie made Willy change _his_ mind instead? He should think about that later. "Rabbit teeth would be extremely helpful! You'd be able to chew trough things no other kids could!" his smile faded when he saw the expression of the rest of the Buckets looking down to his plate once again and whispering. "Or maybe not."

An awkward silence filled the house as the rest of the family finished their food, Willy just kept staring at his plate and sometimes the squeak of rubber could be heard from under the table.

Then everything started to fade, the sounds of silverware against porcelain, the rubber against rubber, the faces, the gazes, that voices calling "Mr. Wonka?...Willy?"…

_((A small child walked down the sidewalk, alone. His eyes focused on the ground in front of him as if he was keeping an eye on anything that might trip him. Other children walked by him, some ignored him because they were too busy chatting to each other or simply because they rather not talk to him. He, however, preferred the ones ignoring him over the ones that would whisper to each other and point, soon followed by chirping laughter. If he didn't see them, they wouldn't be there, they wouldn't exist. So the ground was his best friend. It didn't mock him, it didn't laugh or point. It let him walk over it instead of it walking over him like everything else._

_A school bell rang in the distance and he heard a scatter of footsteps rush by him. He also felt when something hit his shoulder and sent him tumbling to the ground. He got his hands in front of him just before he landed so he could stop his head from hitting but felt something wet hit his face and get into his eyes. He couldn't rub them, he tried, but something stopped his small hand from reaching. Yes, there was something new on his face. His head for that matter. Wires, metal, screws. All held tightly pressing against his teeth and cranium. He closed his eyes tightly to force some tears out from irritation and then blinked a few times. When he opened his eyes he saw something awful. Something he didn't want to see but couldn't help it. A metal monster clutched at his face. The ground, his friend, was making him see that, was showing him what he hated, it was mocking him. He could hear the laughter coming from everywhere. It was laughing at him. It was calling him names. It was making fun of him. "Metal head!" "Can you hear radio waves with that?" "I'd say it suits him." " A freak gotten freakier!" _

"…_stop…"_

_It didn't obey. "Hahahah, look, he's gonna cry." "Careful not to get those wet, they might get rust in your teeth!" "That's the newest piercing fashion? Ugh! I would sue whoever did that to me!" "Maybe we should stay away from him, that thing could attract lightning!"_

"…_please…no more…" He could feel the tears run from his eyes, his closed eyes. Because not even the ground was his friend now. It kept mocking him. But now his thoughts did, his eyes where closed so there was no one but himself._

"_You have awful teeth, son! Haven't you been flossing like I said? You'll get them ugly and twisted if you don't. And we can't have that now can we?" "This will make you learn. Want life easier? Don't want to floss? Then don't. With this you would never have to floss again and the children at school will never call you names over your twisted teeth"_

"_Willy?"_

"_Leave me alone!"_

"_Willy, are you ok? Get off the floor and come to class. Willy? ...Willy…))_

"Willy, dear. Are you alright? Please say something."

Willy opened his eyes and looked at his reflection again. This time the reflection wasn't coming from a puddle of water, it came from something shiny and round. Porcelain. A plate! His face was not trapped in metal anymore. No, it was free. Yet the pained expression was the same he first saw. There were tiny drops of water on the plate. His cheeks felt cold and damp and his eyes burned a little. There was also something wrong with his throat, he hated when his throat felt wrong.

"Mr. Wonka?"

Willy looked towards the voice and saw an equally pained expression but this one was of worry. His gaze trailed to the other faces around the table. They all looked the same. Lastly he looked at someone standing besides him.

Mrs. Bucket put a hand on his shoulder but quickly took it away when he moved away from it like he had been burned. "Willy, dear. Is me. What's wrong?"

Willy looked at her for a long time then his expression changed to an awkward smile. "I'm sorry, I was having a flashback." The corners of his smile were trembling and so was his lower jaw. He clamped his jaws together when he noticed this and quickly turned to the table picked up his empty mug and cheerfully presented it to Mrs. Bucket saying in a shaky voice, "More, please!"

Mrs. Bucket too a deep breath at let out a sigh but took the mug and forced a smile herself, "Sure, Willy." She walked to the kitchen.

Willy kept staring at nothing in particular with the smile frozen in his face.

Everyone else at the table seemed to let out a sigh each in unison when Willy got his chocolate milk and started drinking it looking relaxed almost immediately and back to his cheerful self.

Grandma Georgina's was the loudest however so everyone looked at her and she said dreamingly, "Life is so beautiful!"

Some chuckled, all smiled faintly. Charlie got up from his chair and helped his father clean the table and said when he picked up Willy's plate, "I'm sorry I upset you Mr. Wonka."

Willy lowered his mug and shook his head, "Oh, poppycock, Charlie. You did no such thing! Is not your fault my mind seems to wonder off on its own!" He finished by nodding his head and flashing his teeth again. "Oh and…" he pointed at the water drops on his plate. "I think there might be a leak on your roof. You should have it checked."

"Yes…" Charlie looked around and saw everyone looking at each other. "Sure, Mr. Wonka." To tell the man that he had cried during his flashback would have probably made things worse. Even if he knew it and was just covering up. With Willy Wonka it was always easier to just 'play along'.

Willy looked up to where the 'leak' could be coming from saying more to himself than anyone, "And if there was a leak on the roof that would mean there was another darned pipe broke and I would need to have it fixed before it ruin my meadow."

Mrs. Bucket started to wash the dishes and said without looking behind her. "You know dear, you could always seek a second opinion. Go to another dentist and see what they say."

Charlie ignored Willy's beaming grin and said to his mother, "Wouldn't that be a rude thing to do to Dr. Wonka?"

Mrs. Bucket dried her hands as her husband ushered her aside to continue the dishes himself, she pecked him on the cheek and turned to Charlie. "Well, Charlie. You're just gonna be sure that you know every possible solution before you make a decision, don't you think?"

Charlie thought for a moment then said, "Yeah, I guess."

Mrs. Bucket smiled, "I heard there's a new dentist in town that's offering a two for one. Maybe if Mr. Wonka could…"

Willy pouted, "Oh but I already got mine cleaned!"

Mrs. Bucket frowned slightly at Willy for interrupting here and said, "There's always the 'Check up' option, Willy. They'd just look at you and open a record. Charlie got his cleaned too so he wouldn't have them cleaned again.

Willy smiled, "Oh! Ok then, I'll take him!"

Mrs. Bucket smiled a knowing smile at Willy before she said slowly, "It's in the middle of town Willy."

Willy's smile froze once again, "You mean…I have to go to town? With…nosy people and cameras and children and…" he looked down at Charlie. Those puppy dog eyes, oh, he hated that look. It melted him, like chocolate. Charlie was about to cry, he knew it. Oooh no, Charlie couldn't cry. "Gosh darn it…"

Mrs. Bucket squinted and leaned towards Willy, "What was that?

Willy looked up at her again and put his best fake smile on. "No worries, I'll take him! What's the worse that can happen? Is just a trip to town, it'll be quick." He paused to think. "…yeah."

Mrs. Bucket smiled pleased, "Oh good. Then you can go first thing tomorrow morning. Her office doesn't have much patience at that time.

Willy was about to turn and leave but paused and frowned even more deeply turning to Mrs. Bucket, "Wait….Her?"


End file.
